Functions of HRM:

1. Job design and job analysis

2. Employee hiring and selection
3. Employee training & development
4. Compensation and Benefits
5. Employee performance management
6. Managerial relations
7. Labour relations
8. Employee engagement & communication
9. Health and safety regulations
10.Personal support for employees
11.Succession Planning
12.Industrial Relations
1. Job design and job analysis

One of the foremost functions of HRM is job design and job analysis. Job
design involves the process of describing duties, responsibilities and operations
of the job. To hire the right employees based on rationality and research, it is
imperative to identify the traits of an ideal candidate who would be suitable for
the job. This can be accomplished by describing the skills and character traits of
your top-performing employee. Doing so will help you determine the kind of
candidate you want for the job. You will be able to identify your key minimum
requirements in the candidate to qualify for the job.

Job analysis involves describing the job requirements, such as skills,

qualification and work experience. The vital day-to-day functions need to be
identified and described in detail, as they will decide the future course of action
while recruiting.

2. Employee hiring and selection

Recruitment is one of the primary functions of human resource management.

HRM aims to obtain and retain qualified and efficient employees to achieve the
goals and objectives of the company. All this starts with hiring the right
employees out of the list of applicants and favourable candidates.
An HRM helps to source and identify the ideal candidates for interview and
selection. The candidates are then subjected to a comprehensive screening
process to filter out the most suitable candidates from the pool of applicants.
The screened candidates are then taken through different interview rounds to
test and analyse their skills, knowledge and work experience required for the
job position.

Once the primary functions of HRM in recruitment are completed, and the
candidate gets selected after rounds of interviews, they are then provided with
the job offer in the respective job positions. This process is important because
these selected employees will, after all, help the company realise its goals and
objectives.

3. Employee training & development

Imparting proper training and ensuring the right development of the selected
candidates is a crucial function of HR. After all, the success of the organisation
depends on how well the employees are trained for the job and what are their
growth and development opportunities within the organisation.

The role of HR should be to ensure that the new employees acquire the
company-specific knowledge and skills to perform their task efficiently. It
boosts the overall efficiency and productivity of the workforce, which
ultimately results in better business for the company.

HRM plays a very crucial role in preparing employees for bigger tasks and
responsibilities, which leads to the holistic development of employees at work.
And an organisation which provides ample growth and development
opportunities to its employees is considered to be a healthy organisation.

4. Compensation and Benefits

Benefits and compensation form the major crux of the total cost expenditure of
an organisation. It is a must to plug the expenses, and at the same time, it is also
necessary to pay the employees well. Therefore, the role of human resource
management is to formulate attractive yet efficient benefits and compensation
packages to attract more employees into the workplace without disturbing the
finances of the company.

The primary objective of the benefits and compensation is to establish equitable

and fair remuneration for everyone. Plus, HR can use benefits and
 compensation as a leverage to boost employee productivity as well as establish
a good public image of the business.

Therefore, one of the core HR department functions is to lay down clear policies
and guidelines about employee compensation and their available benefits. One
of the functions of HR manager is to ensure the effective implementation of
these policies and guidelines. This creates equality and builds transparency
among the employees and the management within the organisation. After all,
the level of employee satisfaction at work is directly proportional to the
compensation and benefits they receive.

5. Employee performance management

The next activity on HR functions list is effective employee performance

management. Effective performance management ensures that the output of the
employees meets the goals and objective of the organisation. Performance
management doesn’t just focus on the performance of the employee. It also
focuses on the performance of the team, the department, and the organisation as
a whole.

The list of HR functions for performance management includes:


o Developing a proper job description
o Initiating an appropriate selection process to hire the right candidates for the job
positions
o Providing the right training and education needed to enhance the performance
of the employees
o Enabling real-time feedback and coaching employees to boost efficiency among
them
o Conducting performance reviews monthly or quarterly to discuss the positives
and the improvement areas of employees
o Formulating a proper exit interview process to understand why experienced
employees choose to leave the company
o Designing a proper appraisal and compensation system that recognises and
rewards the workforce for their effort and hard work
6. Managerial relations
Relationships in employment are normally divided into two parts — managerial
relations and labour relations. While labour relations is mainly about the
relationship between the workforce and the company, managerial relations deals
with the relationship between the various processes in an organisation.

Managerial relations determine the amount of work that needs to be done in a

given day and how to mobilise the workforce to accomplish the objective. It is
about giving the appropriate project to the right group of employees to ensure
efficient completion of the project. At the same time, it also entails managing
the work schedules of employees to ensure continued productivity. It is essential
that HR handles such relations effectively to maintain the efficiency and
productivity of the company.

7. Labour relations

Cordial labour relations are essential to maintain harmonious relationships

between employees at the workplace. At the workplace, many employees work
together towards a single objective. However, individually, everyone is different
from the other in characteristics. Hence, it is natural to observe a
communication gap between two employees. If left unattended, such behaviours
can spoil labour relations in the company.

Therefore, it is crucial for an HR to provide proper rules, regulations and

policies about labour relations. This way, the employees have a proper
framework within which they need to operate. Therefore, every employee will
be aware of the policies which will create a cordial and harmonious work
environment.

Such a structured and calm work atmosphere also helps with improving
performance and aching higher targets.

8. Employee engagement and communication

Employee engagement is a crucial part of every organization. Higher levels of

engagement guarantee better productivity and greater employee satisfaction.
Efficiently managing employee engagement activities will help in improving
the employee retention rates too. HRM is the right agent who can manage the
employee engagement seamlessly. Proper communication and engagement will
do wonders for the employees as well as the organization. The more engaged
the employees are, more committed and motivated they will be.
Human resource teams know the ‘humans’ of the organization better than
anyone else. This gives them an upper hand in planning engagement activities.
Although such activities might not fall under the direct functions of HRM, they
are indeed required for the organizational welfare and employer branding.

9. Health and safety regulations

Every employer should mandatorily follow the health and safety regulations laid
out by the authorities. Our labour laws insist every employer to provide
whatever training, supplies, PPE, and essential information to ensure the safety
and health of the employees. Integrating the health and safety regulations with
company procedures or culture is the right way to ensure the safety of the
employees. Making these safety regulations part of the company activities is
one of the important functions of HRM.

10. Personal support for employees

HRM assists employees when they run into personal problems which may
interfere with the workflow. Along with discharging administrative
responsibilities, HR departments also help employees in need. Since the
pandemic, the need for employee support and assistance has substantially
increased. For example, many employees needed extra time off and medical
assistance during the peak period of the pandemic. For those who reached out
for help, whether it may be in the form of insurance assistance or extra leaves,
companies provided help through HR teams.

11. Succession Planning

Succession planning is a core function of HRMs. It aims at planning,

monitoring, and managing the growth path of the employees from within the
organizations.

What usually happens is that promising and bright employees within the
organization who have excelled in their roles are handpicked by their
supervisors and HRs, and their growth paths are developed.

This, of course, becomes quintessential as those employees who recognize the

fact that the company is investing in their growth and development, and
therefore, will stay loyal in the long run. However, while developing such
employees towards a higher role, companies must keep in mind several aspects,
such as improving employee engagement, assigning challenging tasks and
activities.
An employee leaving the organisation can prove to be disruptive and expensive.
Therefore, succession planning is a saviour of some sorts, as it helps identify the
next person who is just right to replace the outgoing individual.

12. Industrial Relations

It’s usually the production lines and manufacturing units where this HR
function is mostly used. You see, Unions exist in factories and manufacturing
units. And their responsibility is towards the goodwill about the workers — in
fact, they’re always vocal and upfront about.

Now, for a company, especially into manufacturing and production, the HRs
must have ongoing Industrial Relations practices. They must also continuously
engage with the Unions in a friendly and positive manner to maintain amicable
relations.

The true motive of Industrial Relation touches on a lot of issues within the
company. For instance, Industrial Relations may be in place to meet wage
standards, reduce instances that call for strikes and protests, improve working
and safety conditions for employees, reduce resource wastage and production
time and so on.

Industrial Relations is extremely important because, if handled properly, it can

circumvent protests, violence, walkouts, lawsuits, loss of funds and production
time. IR is a sensitive yet critical function of the HR department, naturally, it
requires personnel with vast experience.

HRM plays a major role in the smooth functioning of the organisation. The
process starts with formulating the right policies for the job requirements and
ends with ensuring a successful business growth of the company. Therefore,
HRM works as an invisible agent that binds together all the aspects of the
organisation to ensure smooth progress.

Functions of Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management functions can be classified into the following

three categories.

o Managerial Functions,
o Operative Functions, and
o Advisory Functions.
The Managerial Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:

1. Human Resource Planning - In this function of HRM, the number and type
of employees needed to accomplish organizational goals are determined.
Research is an important part of this function, information is collected and
analyzed to identify current and future human resource needs and to forecast
changing values, attitudes, and behavior of employees and their impact on the
organization.
2. Organizing - In an organization tasks are allocated among its members,
relationships are identified, and activities are integrated towards a common
objective. Relationships are established among the employees so that they can
collectively contribute to the attainment of the organization's goal.

3. Directing - Activating employees at different levels and making them

contribute maximum to the organization is possible through proper direction
and motivation. Taping the maximum potentialities of the employees is possible
through motivation and command.

4. Controlling - After planning, organizing, and directing, employees' actual

performance is checked, verified, and compared with the plans. If the actual
performance is found deviated from the plan, control measures are required to
be taken.
The Operative Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:

1. Recruitment and Selection - Recruitment of candidates is the function

preceding the selection, which brings the pool of prospective candidates for the
organization so that the management can select the right candidate from this
pool.

2. Job Analysis and Design - Job analysis is the process of describing the
nature of a job and specifying the human requirements like qualification, skills,
and work experience to perform that job. Job design aims at outlining and
organizing tasks, duties, and responsibilities into a single unit of work for the
achievement of certain objectives.
3. Performance Appraisal - Human resource professionals are required to
perform this function to ensure that the performance of employees is at an
acceptable level.

4. Training and Development - This function of human resource management

helps employees acquire skills and knowledge to perform their jobs effectively.
Training and development programs are organized for both new and existing
employees. Employees are prepared for higher-level responsibilities through
training and development.

5. Wage and Salary Administration - Human resource management

determines what is to be paid for different types of jobs. Human resource
management decides employee's compensation which includes - wage
administration, salary administration, incentives, bonuses, fringe benefits, etc,.

6. Employee Welfare - This function refers to various services, benefits, and

facilities that are provided to employees for their well-being.

7. Maintenance - Human resource is considered an asset for the organization.

Employee turnover is not considered good for the organization. Human resource
management always tries to keep their best performing employees with the
organization.

8. Labour Relations - This function refers to human resource management

interaction with employees represented by a trade union. Employees come
together and form a union to obtain more voice in decisions affecting wage,
benefits, working conditions, etc,.

9. Personnel Research - Personnel research is done by human resource

management to gather employees' opinions on wages and salaries, promotions,
working conditions, welfare activities, leadership, etc,. Such researches help in
understanding employee satisfaction, employee turnover, employee termination,
etc,.

10. Personnel Record - This function involves recording, maintaining, and

retrieving employee-related information like - application forms, employment
history, working hours, earnings, employee absents and presents, employee
turnover, and other data related to employees.

The Advisory Functions of Human Resource Management are as follows:

Human Resource Management is expert in managing human resources and so

can give advice on matters related to human resources of the organization.
Human Resource Management can offer advice to:

1. Advised to Top Management

The personnel manager advises the top management in the formulation and
evaluation of personnel programs, policies, and procedures.

2. Advised to Departmental Heads

The personnel manager advises the heads of various departments on matters

such as manpower planning, job analysis, job design, recruitment, selection,
placement, training, performance appraisal, etc.